V.I.'s Holmberg, USA's Barkow and Dellenbaugh lead after Day 2

Daily News Photo by THOMAS LAYER
Sailors compete in the Carlos Aguilar Match Races in St. Thomas Harbor on Friday.

ST. THOMAS - Fierce pre-start duels, shedding penalties with aplomb, and wins captured by less than a boat length is just a taste of the highly competitive action at the 5th annual Carlos Aguilar Match Race.

The U.S. Virgin Islands' Peter Holmberg leads after Day 2 with 13 wins. Holmberg, formerly the top-ranked match racer in the world and an Olympic silver medalist, is sailing with an all-Virgin Islands crew: Maurice Kurg, Morgan Avery and Ben Beer. Right behind him is the USA's Dave Dellenbaugh, who won all his matches today for a total of 12. Dellenbaugh was the tactician and starting helmsman on America3 during her successful defense of the America's Cup in 1992 and sailed in three other America's Cup campaigns, so he certainly has an incredible depth and history of experience.

However, said Dellenbaugh, "I've only competed in one match race in the past three years, but, I've been thinking about the sport constantly."

Dellenbaugh spent much of the last few years coaching Anna Tunnicliffe and her crew as they represented the U.S. in women's match racing at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

In the CAMR, Dellenbaugh is sailing with a team of women that includes his daughter, Becca, who was one of the top contenders who sailed against Tunnicliffe for the Olympic match racing slot.

"I'm looking forward to competing on the new women's match racing circuit, that will begin next year," said Becca Dellenbaugh. "Match racing is such a blast. We're having such a great time."

The USA's Sally Barkow, the sixth-ranked woman match racer in the world, rounds out the top three teams with 11 wins.

Meanwhile, Brazil's Renata Decnop enjoyed a better day and scored five wins.

"Sailing in this venue two years ago in the same boats does help, especially in knowing how shifty the wind can be," said Decnop, who will look to represent Brazil in the Women's 470 Class in the 2016 Summer Olympics. "Yesterday, we started well, but we had trouble coming together as a crew. Today, with yesterday's experience, we are much better, and we're looking forward to tomorrow."

Rounding out the 11-team fleet are the USA's Stephanie Robles, who is tied with Denmark's Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen at four wins each, and Germany's Sven-Eric Horsch at two wins.

This four-day regatta, sailed in Inter-Club (IC-24s), will continue today with the remainder of the second round-robin and the start of the semifinals. The finals will be broadcast live locally on WVWI (AM 1000).

Up for grabs is a distinctive Ulysse Nardin precision timepiece for the winner.

A group of Virgin Islands youth will have an opportunity to try match racing during the Carlos Aguilar Match Race Youth Regatta, which will take place between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. today

Match racing pits one identical boat against another on a short course, oftentimes near to shore. On-the-water umpires make instant calls and enforce the rules. The result is very exciting racing up and down the Charlotte Amalie waterfront. Spectators are invited to watch the racing under tented bleacher seating, where there will be live narration. Viewers around the world can watch via live webcast on www.carlosmatchrace.com. Racing starts at 9 a.m. daily.

The St. Thomas Yacht Club and the Virgin Islands Sailing Association are organizing authorities for the CAMR, namesake for the late Carlos Aguilar, who was an avid sailor and match racer.

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